I'm no Mike Stockton when it comes to vintage Japanese watches. My knowledge ends where his starts. There is no shame in admitting that, either. He knows his stuff when it comes to Seiko, Citizen, and the rest. I do, however, love to read about them, search the usual auction sites, compare models, and put together an imaginary vintage Seiko wish list. Also, I have Mike as a friend, and from time t

Not all watch shows are meant for consumers. Often, the shows attended by big-name brands have a strong focus on the press, retailers, and distributors. Collectors and enthusiasts are left watching from the outside and having to make do with reading the latest news online. Thankfully, there are some shows with a focus on the “real people,” as it were. One such show is held by our good

Now it’s my turn to profess the best watches in existence under $3,000. The bulk of my colleagues have already opined on the subject, and they’ve certainly picked some fantastic timepieces. That said, there are still loads of nice opportunities to add a watch for this rather princely sum. I’ve chosen a wide variety and have also tried to cover the major genres too. Let’s se

Can Seiko’s famous Marinemaster moniker apply to two very different watches in the Prospex line? If the introduction of the new, smaller Marinemaster last year wasn’t enough to accept, the brand just hit us with another curveball. Seiko just added two new Marinemasters to the catalog, and they aren’t in line with last year’s 62MAS-inspired Marinemaster watches. The new Seik

The French word millesime means “vintage” and is most often linked to great wines and champagnes. The new HYT T1 Millesime series offers a vintage-inspired dial matching the contemporary look of HYT's most understated creation. And just like a millesime wine, the new trio of watches refers to a limited period. The HYT T1 Millesime series in brown, purple, and green will only be availab

Don’t you love how the designers at Grand Seiko keep using Japanese natural phenomena and settings as inspiration? Of course, I’m not a fan of all Grand Seiko watches, but I enjoy reading through the press releases and looking up the places and things from which the dial colors and textures are derived. It’s like taking a trip through Japan. The new Grand Seiko Evolution 9 SLGA02

In a few days I am off to the Cote d’Azure for some well earned holidays with my girlfriend. We are, ofcourse, planning to visit Monaco and in order to answer to my watchaddiction, I tried to google on watchstores in Monaco in the hope to see some really high-end watches in the flesh.However, most hits shows this:If anyone has tips for nice shops in Monaco/Cannes/St Tropez which are really w

A few months ago, I visited Singapore and noticed this incredible piece of art in the display of The Hour Glass shop in the Millenia Walk mall. This watch, an URWERK 103, was an incredible eye-catcher.Last week I received a presentation of URWERK’s latest creation, the UR103 Hexagon. It also included a technical description of this time piece.URWERK, founded in 1997 by Felix Baumgartner (wat

Omega Speedmaster Plaisted Polar Expedition 1968!A sextant and a Speedmaster was all they had to calculate their exact position. Four brave men who had travelled for 44 days to conquer 1320 kilometres across the Polar cap reached their destination: the exact geographic North Pole at 90 degrees latitude North.The mission was led by American explorer Ralph S. Plaisted. The other men in his team were

Buzz Aldrin’s Speedmaster!Once in a while we have guest contributors for the Speedy Tuesday topic. Today’s it is Boris of the Watches and Art blog and contributor to WatchTime.net. Just recently, he also contributed to Speedy Tuesday with his wonderful Omega Speedmaster ref. 2998-61. Today, Boris contributes with a story on his Omega Speedmaster Professional 145.012, supposedly the sam

SevenFriday introduces their new collection of timepieces, the V-Series. Clearly inspired by engines and industrial design, the SevenFriday V-Series will shake up the entry market of mechanical timepieces once again. We had our worries, that the new collection would become ‘too expensive’ and therefore competing in a totally different league of watch manufacturers, but the price of the

Today is apparently vintage Heuer Autavia day on Fratello Watches, as we’re giving you a double-dose (see our #TBT article on the Heuer Autavia 2446 “Jochen Rindt”)!In case you missed it, and you wouldn't be alone due to the lightning fast sale, hen's teeth were available on eBay earlier this week.? A so-called Heuer Autavia 2446C SN was listed at $20,000 and was apparently purch

Once the bug bit me, the only remedy was to track down “the watch”. I absolutely had to find a Heuer Autavia 2446. To me, within the pantheon of rotating bezel 60's sports chronographs, the Autavia has always acted the part of Zeus.? Specifically, the 2446 2nd Execution screw-down case models reign supreme. There's just something about these watches and I'll do my best to explain the f

I had never heard about Minase watches, and that’s perfectly explainable as they were only available in Japan till now. Minase is a company that started as a spin-off in 2005 of a cutting tool manufacturer by the name of?Kyowa Co. (1963). With an annual production of 500 pieces only, I am pretty sure that not many of you heard about Minase watches. Now, Minase introduces a limited watch of 4

In January 2018, Baume & Mercier unveiled a surprising new caliber in a new timepiece at a very attractive price-point: the Baumatic BM12-1975A caliber will be exclusively available in the new Clifton Baumatic watch from September 2018 on, with prices starting at $2,750.What makes this release so remarkable is the fact that Baume & Mercier addresses several real-life problems of mechanical

Fall approaches and everyone returns from their much-deserved summer holidays, the watch industry is slowly starting to speed up as well - time to reflect and share my top 5 chronographs of 2019, so far.September will bring us a bunch of events that will go on until early December and the holiday season. Of course, not only events will occur but possibly a bunch of new releases too. One of the for

For today’s Speedy Tuesday article, we have a contribution from Nick Gould. Nick is a watch spotter and contributes to several watch magazines and blogs regularly.We love spotting watches on people, including those who are famous, as long as it’s genuine. In this case, Nick spotted a watch on the wrist of an actor that has discussed his share of watches on Mr Porter’s online jour

Sometimes, a brand lives and dies on the character of its people. H. Moser & Cie is headed-up by the charismatic (and charmingly self-deprecating) Edouard Meylan (or sexy Ed as I call him by virtue of his incredible tan). Regrettably, I didn't get the chance to meet him (again), but it's probably just as well as I likely would have said something to that end and embarrassed my team and undone

The designer famous for his octagonal and stainless steel luxury sports watches also had other tricks up his sleeve. Bvlgari introduces a new version of another Gerald Genta classic: the Arena Bi-Retrograde Sport.After the recent Octo Finissimo introductions (click here), I wondered what Bvlgari would show to us during the Geneva Watch Days. A few days in advance, I saw the brand’s Bvlgari B

Originally founded in 1934, Airain was part of the Lebois and Dodane brands. Montre Airain, was it was called, became one of the official suppliers for the French army.Today, we know the Type 20 watches perhaps best for being part of the Breguet collection (Type XX). But after the second world war, there were seven brands that were creating these Type 20 chronographs for the French Air Force and N